The BCCI Central Contract List for the upcoming season in 2025-26 might be revealed around the time of the New Year. This might be considered one among the earliest announcements, as the contracts are always declared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in either February or March.
But this time around, the delay in contracts till April led to the decision to expedite the procedure. There are expected to be a number of key changes, with some people promoted or demoted across the brands.
Shubman Gill to Be Promoted to Top Grade
One of the most exciting aspects of the BCCI Central Contract for the year 2025-26 is the anticipated rise in the contract rank of Shubman Gill. He, being the new Indian Test and ODI captain, is set to upgrade his contract grade from A to the top grade A+ contract.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Facing Demotion
Veteran players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are expected to be downgraded in the A+ category. This decision was taken as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have already retired from the Test format, affecting the criteria in the BCCI Central Contract structure. Along with them, the players who are also said to be facing possible demotion are Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah.
Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar May Miss Out
Even fast bowlers Mohammad Shami and Mukesh Kumar might not be included in the BCCI Central Contract list of 2025-26. Mohammad Shami has not played for India since March, and Mukesh Kumar has not played since July of this year, which might affect their selection.
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Youthful Players Eligible For Promotion
Some of the new and existing players expected to get an update in the new BCCI Central Contract include:
Tilak Varma
Arshdeep Singh
Prasidh Krishna
Dhruv Jurel
Harshit Rana
Majority of these players have developed into two-format regulars, and a majority have become regulars in the longer formats. Such is their significance in the plans for Team India, and they may move up the list based on their contracts.
Current BCCI Central Contracts (2024–25)
Grade A+
- Virat Kohli
- Rohit Sharma
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Ravindra Jadeja
Grade A
- Rishabh Pant
- Mohammed Shami
- Mohammed Siraj
- KL Rahul
- Shubman Gill
- Hardik Pandya
Grade B
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Axar Patel
- Shreyas Iyer
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
Grade C
- Rinku Singh
- Tilak Varma
- Ruturaj Gaikwad
- Shivam Dube
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Washington Sundar
- Mukesh Kumar
- Sanju Samson
- Arshdeep Singh
- Prasidh Krishna
- Rajat Patidar
- Dhruv Jurel
- Sarfaraz Khan
- Nitish Reddy
- Ishan Kishan
- Abhishek Sharma
- Akash Deep
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Harshit Rana
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